Britain's Lloyds Banking Group rounded off a £23 billion repair of its balance sheet, issuing a final tranche of new shares in a move that will trim the government's stake.
Lloyds, partly state-owned after being rescued by the taxpayer at the height of the financial crisis, will issue 3.14 billion new shares at 48.7 pence per share to close an earlier debt exchange programme, it said today.
The issue price for the new shares, which will be used to pay off bondholders, is a 1.15 per cent premium to yesterday's close. Shares in Lloyds were down 2 per cent at 47.2 pence by 9.38am.
The bank had the opportunity of paying cash, but chose the most widely expected option paying in new shares, diluting the government's stake to 41 per cent from 43 per cent.
"Today's announcement marks the successful completion of our capital raising exercise," Lloyds said in a statement. "We would like to thank our investors for their continued support."
Lloyds, Britain's largest retail banking group, raised £13.5 billion in a record-breaking cash call last year, part of a bumper capital raising effort worth more than £23 billion to help it avoid a state-backed scheme for bad debts.
Reuters